Pokémon Stats

Learn about HP, Attack, Defense, Sp. Atk, Sp. Def, and Speed in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Understand Natures and how physical/special moves work!

Alright, let's break down how your Pokémon's stats work in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Think of these as your Pokémon's core abilities – they determine how well it performs in battle. You'll see these stats pop up a lot, so it's super helpful to know what each one means.

Here's a quick rundown of the six main stats:

Stat	Affects	What it Does
HP	Health	Short for “Hit Points”. This is a measure of your Pokémon’s stamina.
Attack	Your physical moves	The higher this stat, the more damage your Pokémon will inflict when using physical moves.
Defense	Foe’s physical moves	The higher this stat, the less damage your Pokémon will receive from physical moves.
Sp. Atk	Your special moves	Short for “Special Attack”. The higher this stat, the more damage your Pokémon will inflict when using special moves.
Sp. Def	Foe’s special moves	Short for “Special Defense”. The higher this stat, the less damage your Pokémon will receive from special moves.
Speed	Priority in battle	The Pokémon with the higher Speed stat will act earlier during battle.

As your Pokémon level up or evolve, these stats will naturally increase. Even just battling other Pokémon or using items like vitamins can give them a small boost. It all adds up to make your team stronger!

Understanding Natures

Ever noticed some numbers next to your Pokémon's stats are red or blue when you check them? That's thanks to their Nature! Each Pokémon has a Nature that either boosts one stat (making it red) or decreases another (making it blue). If a stat is neither red nor blue, its Nature has no effect on it.

During the main story, a Pokémon's Nature isn't a huge deal. But if you're aiming for a super-optimized team later on, it's a good idea to try and get Pokémon with Natures that boost their best stats and don't hinder them too much. For example, a Piplup whose Nature lowers its Special Attack might not be the best choice if you want it to hit hard with special moves.

Physical vs. Special Moves

Back in the original Diamond and Pearl games, moves were categorized as physical or special based on their type. But now, it's a bit more nuanced: each individual move is classified as either physical, special, or status. This means you can have moves of the same type that are either physical (like Fire Punch) or special (like Flamethrower).

So, how do you know if a move is physical or special? When you're looking at a Pokémon's details or checking a move during battle (just press the Y Button!), you'll see a little icon next to the move's name:

• An impact icon (looks like a punch!) means it's a physical move.
• A spiral icon suggests it's a special move.
• And a yin-yang icon is for status moves, which don't deal damage directly but have other effects.

When to Use Physical or Special Moves

This is pretty straightforward: if your Pokémon has a higher Attack stat, you'll generally want to use its physical moves to deal more damage. Conversely, if its Special Attack is higher, stick to special moves.

If your Pokémon's Attack and Special Attack stats are pretty similar (which isn't super common), you can really use whichever you prefer. Just remember to consider your opponent too! If you're facing a Pokémon with a really high Defense stat, using special moves might be more effective, and vice-versa for Special Defense. For instance, trying to blast a Chansey with special moves could take ages because of its sky-high Special Defense!